Digital citizenship

What does it mean to be a digital citizen?

Being online is second nature for young people today. You should take a minute or two to think about how to keep yourself safe. You probably know more about the technology than your mom, dad or guardian - you should also be the safety expert. You'll need this knowledge for the rest of your life.

Social networking tips

If you're collecting Facebook friends like spare change - you could be setting yourself up for trouble. One thoughtless post and that's hundred of people who will share it and spread it. There's no do-overs online so choose your friends wisely. And if you wouldn't say it to your boss or your grandmother, don't say it online.

Be authentic. The real you is better than anything you might pretend to be.

Learn about privacy settings, and review them often.

If you ever receive hurtful or abusive messages or posts on your profile page you have options. Depending on how serious the situation is, you can ignore it, ask the person to stop, unfriend or block the person, or tell your parents, a teacher, a counselor or another adult you trust. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect.

Be sure to report abusive content - whether it's on your profile page, or someone else's. You can also report inappropriate pages, groups, events and fake or impostor profiles. (Reporting is confidential, no one will know who made the report.) More information is available under the cyberbullying page.